Cannes Lions 2025: Mustafa Suleyman on AI ‘garbage’ and why trust will set brands apart

France – On day two of the festival, Serena Williams was announced as Reckitt’s first entrepreneur-in-residence. The acclaimed athlete and founder of Serena Ventures launched Reckitt Catalyst, a five-year, £10m ($13.5m, €11.7m) initiative aimed at supporting health and hygiene start-ups led by women and under-represented entrepreneurs. On stage, Williams recalled being shocked when she first heard that only 2% of venture capital funding in the US goes to women founders (source: PitchBook). ‘It’s going shockingly down now,’ she added.

In a fireside chat on AI and the future of creativity, Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI, emphasised AI’s role as a creative companion, not a replacement. ‘We’re not trying to build an intelligence that replaces people,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to uplift humans.’ He predicted that as entry barriers are lowered, the amount of ‘garbage’ will increase.

‘The quality bar is about to go through the roof,’ he noted. ‘Judgement and curation will matter more than ever.’ He also stressed that in a world flooded with AI-generated content, trust will be critical: ‘People make decisions based on trust – we’re not rational actors.’ In his view, style, aesthetics and brand credibility will define what stands out.

Trust was central to a panel discussing Edelman’s 2025 Brand Trust research. According to CEO Richard Edelman, brand purpose is shifting from ‘we’ to ‘me’ in response to growing instability. After years of crisis, including the pandemic, inflation and geopolitical conflict, consumers are anxious, angry and losing faith in traditional institutions.

Gen Z in particular are facing financial hardship, job insecurity and increasingly embracing grievance and even hostile activism. In today’s climate, brands are often seen as more trustworthy than governments or the media. Now, consumers want brands that offer stability, transparency and hope for the future. Purpose is not dead, Edelman argued, but it must feel personal. Brands should serve the individual, their family, job, community and future. ‘Silence is not an option,’ he warned. ‘This is a compelling leadership moment for brands.’